South Africa's teenage debutant Lhuan-dre Pretorius was sledged by Zimbabwe players on day one of the Test series opener in Bulawayo after a controversial caught-behind reprieve.
Bowling first, Zimbabwe seamer Tanaka Chivanga gave the hosts a dream start. He drew first blood by dismissing South Africa’s new-look opening pair of Tony de Zorzi (0) and Matthew Breetzke (13). David Bedingham became his next victim, falling for a duck, as South Africa slumped to 23-3. The visitors further collapsed to 55-4 when Wiaan Mulder was run out after labouring to 17 off 47 balls.
The 19-year-old debutant Pretorius, fast-tracked into the team due to his all-format exploits early in his career, launched a counter-attack, racing to 30 with a flurry of boundaries. On his 36th delivery, he earned a controversial reprieve before going on to score a record-breaking century.
'You've got to walk for that, surely'
The moment of contention came during Chivanga’s sixth over. Bowling from around the wicket, he delivered a full-length ball, tempting Pretorius to drive. With his trademark wristwork and angled bat face, Pretorius swung but failed to connect cleanly. The ball appeared to pass the inside edge, as wicketkeeper Tafadzwa Tsiga immediately appealed for a caught behind. Notably, there was a noise as the ball passed close to the bat, but Pretorius, however, remained rooted in his crease during the follow-through, merely glancing back at the keeper.
The Zimbabwe players appealed vehemently, but to their dismay, the umpire remained unmoved. Pretorius, nonchalantly shadow-practicing the shot in the interim, then casually strolled over to chat with his batting partner, fellow debutant Dewald Brevis. The hosts couldn't send the decision upstairs as well due to the unavailability of DRS.
"There are a few comments coming from the Zimbabwe players, 'You've got to walk for that, surely'. He smashed it. Pretorius is not going anywhere, and they [Zimbabwe] can’t send it upstairs. It can't be turned over. There’s no Snicko. So if there was an edge, Pretorious has survived," Shaun Pollock on commentary explained the controversial moment.
When the replay of the sequence was shown thereafter, Pollock noted: "There's some movement after the ball pitches. His bat is so far away from the pads. So if there was any noise, it must be off the bat."
Had the decision gone in Zimbabwe’s favour, they would have had the tourists reeling at 68 for five, making serious inroads early in the Test. But Pretorius ensured he capitalised on the reprieve, becoming the youngest South African to score a Test century, at 19 years and 93 days, breaking Graeme Pollock’s 1963/64 record (19 years, 317 days). When he was eventually dismissed for a 160-ball 153, studded with 11 fours and four sixes, South Africa had reached 289-7.
1st Test, Zimbabwe vs South Africa
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Image credit: Fancode
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